Morey Creative Studios Podcasts

In this episode, we feature insights from writer and activist Cory Doctorow, who along with Rebecca Giblin, a professor at Melbourne Law School, co-authored the book ‘Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We’ll Win Them Back.’ It's a story about the stranglehold megacorporations have on their re…

Despite publicly denying climate science, fossil fuel giants have long been aware of the catastrophic consequences of burning fossil fuels, and millions of people are dying each year as a result. Should these executives be held accountable for the deaths caused by their products—and their lies? Don Braman, associate professor at the law school at G…

The residents of East Palestine, Ohio have been at the epicenter of one of the country’s largest environmental disasters in living memory. On Feb. 3, a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals, including the human carcinogen vinyl chloride, derailed, contaminating the soil and surrounding waterways and erupting into a fireball and mu…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an important, alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of…

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. demanded justice and equality—two essential truths which still have not been achieved, more than 50 years since his murder on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Year after year, without fail, politicians, pundits, and corporations bastardize his image and legacy to their own capitalistic agendas—capit…

In this episode, we take you to Arizona, where lawmakers passed a law that would make it a crime to record police within eight feet. While it has since been blocked by a federal court, its passage ignites serious questions about our First Amendment rights and how far people in power will go to limit police accountability and dissent. News Beat is a…

AKA "Corporate Profiteering During Record Inflation" As the media obsessed over record inflation for much of the year, major corporations were publicly celebrating their recent rise in profits and admitting in earnings calls that they were raising prices on consumers—effectively price gouging Americans. This boon to corporate coffers also comes ami…

Republicans, who have long used crime to win elections, are now determined to remove democratically elected progressive prosecutors from office. These are effectively modern day coups meant to crush reform policies that voters supported in response to decades of mass incarceration and punitive policing measures. News Beat is a multi-award-winning p…

In a follow up to our “Big Lie” episode, we report on the congressional hearings on fossil fuel disinformation that you likely didn’t see in the corporate media. Investigators publicly released internal Big Oil documents that further exposed how the industry utilizes propaganda and disinformation to further investments in oil and gas, while claimin…

What did the fossil fuel industry know about climate change and when did it know it? Turns out, these giant corporations were aware of the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions for DECADES and instead of combatting the crisis they’ve engaged in obfuscation and manipulative marketing campaigns to sow confusion and mistrust of science. At the s…

Bernadette Smith scours the depths of the Red River in Manitoba for her missing sister and other women and children murdered and dumped in its murky waters. Duana Johnson comforts families of those who’ve vanished from reservations throughout the U.S. Northwest. Mary Kathryn Nagle battles for justice on behalf of the mothers, daughters, sisters, au…

Ukraine is at the center of a proxy war between decades-long rivals and two competing economic systems, and opportunistic weapons manufacturers are cashing in. We provide a much-needed historical perspective about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, elements of which have gone under-reported, if not ignored entirely, by the corporate media. Our guests…

A staggering percentage of those locked up in America’s mass incarceration crisis—upwards of 20%, or 200,000 folks (!!)—were homeless or in marginal housing leading up to their imprisonment. Forty percent were on welfare. Even more were jobless, especially among the Black community. And far too many were in public housing or foster care prior to ev…

On May 14, an 18-year-old white supremacist armed with an assault rifle and wearing body armor livestreamed his massacre of 10 Black people at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Ten days later, another 18-year-old slaughtered 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. While investigators scramble for motivations be…

Devised in the wake of the September 11th Terror Attacks and subsequent 9/11 Commission casting much of the blame on the lack of interjurisdictional communication between law enforcement, fusion centers have continued to operate in the shadows and outside the realms of the public eye, and even elected officials, ever since. Yet instead of foreign a…

In 2017, shortly after the deadly "Unite The Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, we released an episode titled ‘Misunderstanding Terrorism: Exposing Radical Caucasian Extremism’ calling out what the vast majority of mainstream news outlets and then-President Trump wouldn’t, yet what study after study had been warning about for quite some tim…

Long time listeners will certainly recognize LiKWUiD who, as one of News Beat's "Artist in Residence," has been featured on several important episodes delivering compelling, often heart wrenching lyrics that compliment our social justice reporting in a truly powerful way. Find out a little bit more about this prolific Hip-Hop artist, DJ, educator a…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an important, alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of…

When disaster strikes, who profits? That’s the question Australian-based reporter Antony Loewenstein has been investigating for years. “Disaster capitalism” was first coined by renowned journalist and author Naomi Klein in her 2007 best-selling book “Shock Doctrine.” Loewenstein digs deeper with on-the-ground reporting to show how companies around …

America's longest war has one clear winner: Corporations. Has the war in Afghanistan become the biggest scam of our lifetime? News Beat is a multi-award-winning podcast brought to you by Morey Creative Studios and Manny Faces Media. Subscribe for free to our Substack newsletter. Audio Editor/Sound Designer/Producer/Host: Manny Faces Editor-In-Chief…

Surprise, surprise. Modern day citizen’s arrest laws across the United States have their roots in Civil War-era laws designed to punish slaves. In this episode, one of the foremost experts on citizen’s arrest laws traces the history of these archaic laws from the colonial period to today—exposing yet another disturbing aspect of America’s “justice”…

Beware the false messiahs of meaningful criminal justice reform, the so-called bipartisan coalition championing initiatives that purport to make a difference yet do absolutely nothing to incite true change, and in fact, further tighten the historical and ongoing noose of neoliberalism and structural racism within the world’s largest prison state. O…

Since last spring, politicians, right-wing pundits, the media, and so-called “centrist” Democrats have weaponized the rise in violent crimes, including murders, to demonize police reform efforts and blame progressives. Sure enough, they conveniently neglect to mention that crime is up across the country—in cities run by Democrats and Republicans. W…

Long time listeners know Silent Knight, his voice and his profound work -- not only as News Beat's "Artist in Residence," but as a solo artist, frontperson for our good friends and co-award-winning collaborators, The Band Called FUSE, and as an Innocence Ambassador for the renowned organization, The Innocence Project. Find out a little bit more abo…

Law enforcement is increasingly using facial recognition, AI and other technologies despite numerous studies and real world examples of such tech falsely identifying criminal suspects. Along with concerns over how this tech will disproportionately impact Black and Brown communities, experts are raising concerns over First Amendment implications and…

This episode was honored as Best Podcast at the 2021 New York Press Club Journalism Awards. We dedicate the win to the many voices -- both heard, and unheard -- represented in this episode. The 2020 rebellions sparked renewed discussions surrounding a host of racial issues, including police brutality toward black men. Advocates argue that black wom…

If you pay attention to mainstream media, you’d notice that many outlets are recognizing June 17, 2021 as the 50th anniversary of the “war on drugs.” Actually, the racist and deadly drug war goes back much further than conventional wisdom suggests, and was originally waged by an authoritarian bureaucrat that most people likely have never heard of. …

Guilty pleas have become the dominant way in which prosecutors in America secure convictions. In some cases, 99 percent of cases in various jurisdictions end in a plea bargain. While plea bargaining has been a function of the American justice system for nearly a century, the practice started taking hold in the 1970s following various Supreme Court …

Reform candidates are increasingly winning district attorney elections in the United States. The movement represents a direct challenge to the decades-long tough-on-crime era, characterized by punitive sentencing laws, significant investments in police forces and prisons, and the criminalization of mental health—culminating in the highest incarcera…

As we work to deliver you more compelling social-justice-meets-music-and-lyrics episodes of News Beat proper, we want to put you on to another incredible podcast in our production universe, Unf*cking the Republic. This brilliant show is all about exposing political f*ckery -- from all sides -- while informing and entertaining along the way. It's al…

Like we always do at this time of year, we present an alternative look at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, examining how the civil rights icon was so much more than simply the “I Have a Dream” soundbite, which has become known as the cornerstone of his public perception. Along with Pastor Roger C. Williams of the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove,…

January 6, 2021 was a dark day in the history of this nation. What we all witnessed at the U.S. Capitol was a full-on assault on democracy, incited by President Donald Trump and carried out by right-wing extremists—or simply, domestic terrorists. Tragically, these events, although deeply unsettling, shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Experts have bee…

This is a special episode in collaboration with Color Of Change, the largest online racial justice organization in the country. With uprisings rivaling those of the 1960s, Americans this year took to the streets in massive numbers to declare Black Lives Matter and demand systemic change. These rebellions have underscored the desperate need for chan…

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively gutted the historic Voting Rights Act, making it easier for states to suppress the vote by enacting voter ID laws, eliminating early voting, closing polling stations and aggressively purging voter rolls. Voter ID laws, specifically, didn’t exist prior to 2006—now about three-dozen states have some form of…

Symbols of pride for Italian Americans, painful reminders of historical injustices and brutal atrocities for indigenous peoples—statues of controversial 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus have been decapitated, toppled or taken down in cities and towns across the United States amid the ongoing protests against racial injustice and police br…

Human Rights Watch, an international nongovernmental organization, released a report accusing the NYPD of serious international human rights violations and has called into question some of the justifications made by the top brass of the department after a June crackdown in the South Bronx. Ida Sawyer, co-author of the report and acting crisis and c…

A federal appeals court earlier this month affirmed a controversial Florida law requiring people with felony convictions to pay court fees in order to have their voting rights restored. With less than 50 days until the November election and with the state’s voter registration deadline nearing, the 6-4 ruling all but ensures hundreds of thousands of…

The warnings were clear: COVID-19 would spread like wildfire in jails and prisons. It has. The top COVID-19 clusters across America are overwhelmingly jails and prisons, and efforts to reduce jail populations have stalled amid a surge in infections. Among the hardest-hit is San Quentin State Prison in California, which is responsible for about a qu…

Black Americans have long relied on the Postal Service as a source of stable employment, with our guest tracing this history back to the legal end of slavery. Amid the uproar over recent efforts to undermine the USPS, we examine this history and the role Black postal workers played in the union and civil rights struggle. News Beat is an award-winni…

The 2020 rebellions have sparked renewed discussions surrounding a host of racial issues, including police brutality toward black men. Advocates argue that black women are similarly exposed to excessive police violence yet routinely forgotten or ignored. Among their demands: Say Her Name. News Beat is an award-winning Morey Creative Studios podcast…

In commemoration of this year’s Juneteenth, as countless people flood the streets all across this country calling for justice, equality, and an end to police brutality, among other demands—testament that the struggle is far, far from over—we’re re-releasing an episode that documents proof of this modern-day, state-sponsored slavery, highlighting a …

In the wake of the police slaying of George Floyd in Minneapolis, protesters have not only flooded the streets, but they're actively pushing reforms that go well beyond traditional solutions. The defund police movement would represent a seismic shift in policing in America. News Beat is an award-winning Morey Creative Studios podcast. Producer: Mic…

Anti-racism protesters nationwide have been met with chemical agents and aggressive force by police at demonstrations sparked by the modern-day lynching of George Floyd. This episode explores how our right to protest is being criminalized, through laws, harsh tactics, and other measures. This episode was originally published June, 2018. News Beat i…

In recent days, commentators have compared the mass demonstrations taking place in cities and neighborhoods across the country to the waves of protests that engulfed America in the 1960s. A veteran of the 1967 Newark Rebellion discusses George Floyd’s death, the culture of police brutality, and whether today's movement can produce change. Support t…

Our compelling, award-winning examination of the factors that exist when overly-oppressed and tormented communities have finally had enough, and, much like the incidents that lay at the foundation of our democracy, are forced to rise up in rebellion. Featuring Dr. Cornel West, Rosa Clemente, and Lawrence Hamm. Music by The Band Called FUSE, lyrics …

A career public defender is now on the other side of the law. We speak to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin about embracing reforms as district attorney of a prominent U.S. city, and combating COVID-19. News Beat is an award-winning Morey Creative Studios podcast. Producer: Michael "Manny Faces" Conforti Editor-In-Chief: Chris Twarowski …

The areas victimized by racist federal housing policies in the 1930s are now among the most vulnerable to the severe impacts of climate change, according to a landmark study. And although the Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned redlining and housing discrimination in general, three out of four redlined communities rated "hazardous" 80 years ago are str…

While the coronavirus has indiscriminately ravaged communities across the nation, African Americans are dying at disproportionately higher rates, according to preliminary data. Those who study racial health disparities aren’t surprised, considering that African Americans suffer inordinately from chronic conditions, symptoms linked to systemic racis…

As part of our continuing coronavirus coverage, we examine the threat the virus poses to correctional facilities in Florida, which acted much later than other states to enact bans on nonessential workers. In the second part of the episode, we explore how the suspension of family visitation impacts inmates and their families. News Beat is an award-w…